The Model of Utilizing “Contemplation, Intellectual Reflection, and Free Thinking” in Civilization-Building Governance Based on the Intellectual System of the Supreme Leader

With the Islamic Revolution of Iran entering its second phase of life—as articulated in the Statement on the Second Step of the Islamic Revolution by the Supreme Leader, defined as the era of “self-cultivation, society-building, and civilization-building”—the necessity of recognizing and employing intellectual and theoretical foundations in Islamic governance has become increasingly significant. From the perspective of His Eminence, the three components of “contemplation,” “intellectual reflection,” and “free thinking” constitute the pillars of national soft power and the prerequisite for the realization of Islamic governance on the level of the new Islamic civilization. These elements, in addition to serving as the foundations of knowledge production and innovation, provide the ground for educating a generation in harmony with the Revolution and for shaping a thoughtful society committed to religious values. Despite repeated emphases by the Leader, challenges such as the lack of structural institutions to promote free thinking, the absence of effective linkage between the production of thought and discourse formation, and the nonexistence of a comprehensive model for utilizing these capacities in the governance process have hindered the full use of this soft capital. Consequently, the necessity of presenting a scientific and indigenous model capable of explaining and operationalizing these three components in relation to Islamic governance has become a strategic imperative. The principal objective of this research is to identify, explain, and design a conceptual–applicative model for the effective utilization of the capacities of contemplation, intellectual reflection, and free thinking in the path toward achieving civilization-building Islamic governance. This objective is based on an analysis of the Supreme Leader’s views regarding the structural role of these components in managing society and in the process of civilization-building, and it seeks to extract the necessary principles and theoretical frameworks for linking intellectual capacities with the functions of governance in various dimensions such as thought production, human resource training, and cultural institution-building. Furthermore, the research aims to extend the flow of contemplation and free thinking from the level of academic and educational centers to the arena of macro-level decision-making and executive management of the country, thereby clarifying the role of these components as prerequisites for the transition from the Islamic state to the Islamic society and ultimately the realization of the new Islamic civilization. The study has been conducted through a descriptive–analytical method with a qualitative approach. Data have been collected through library and documentary study, with the primary focus on analyzing the speeches, writings, and official documents published by the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of the Supreme Leader, as well as upstream documents such as the Statement on the Second Step of the Revolution, the Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress, and the Charter of the Advanced Seminary. In the first stage, the definitions and concepts of the three components “contemplation,” “intellectual reflection,” and “free thinking” were revisited within the framework of Islamic principles, and subsequently, through an ijtihād-based approach, their relation to the fundamental elements of the Islamic system and civilization was examined. Moreover, strategic statements by the Supreme Leader regarding institution-building, discourse formation, and human resource training were analyzed using content analysis in order to identify the governing principles of the proposed model. The findings demonstrate that, from the perspective of the Supreme Leader, the triad of contemplation, intellectual reflection, and free thinking constitutes the foundation of the civilizational movement of Islamic culture in the present era, and without them the path to civilization-building governance will be interrupted. Contemplation, as a purposeful rational activity aimed at understanding and solving issues based on Islamic knowledge, is the initiator of strategic thought production. Intellectual reflection is the process of critical and methodical analysis of phenomena to provide effective responses
to contemporary needs, and free thinking ensures the freedom of thought within the framework of rationality and Sharīʿa, preventing intellectual subjugation and imitation of foreign models. The findings further reveal that these components must be employed simultaneously in four arenas: first, in the human sphere, through the training of faithful, self-disciplined, and rational human resources familiar with Islamic lifestyle and Iranian traditions who are capable of realizing the ideals of the Revolution; second, in the sphere of thought production and discourse formation, by strengthening free thinking to generate indigenous concepts and vocabularies consistent with the intellectual structure of the Revolution, which are then transformed into public and executive discourse; third, in the institutional sphere, by creating and reinforcing supportive institutions such as seminaries, universities, media, and intellectual assemblies to strengthen the flow of religious rationality and responses to doubts; and fourth, in the sphere of governance, by ensuring the practical connection of intellectual processes with macro-level policy-making and societal management in such a way that major decisions are made based on theoretical foundations and Islamic values. Overall, the findings emphasize that civilization-building Islamic governance is achieved when these three components are employed not merely as theoretical values but as practical and strategic instruments in the design and implementation of models of progress and societal management, with the synergistic role of seminaries, universities, and cultural institutions being continuously reinforced in this process.